


Demons

by MorganaNK



Category: Inspector Lynley - All Media Types, Inspector Lynley Mysteries (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-05
Updated: 2016-11-05
Packaged: 2018-08-29 02:41:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 645
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8472400
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MorganaNK/pseuds/MorganaNK
Summary: Set at the end of "Limbo"... what happened when Barbara suggested to Tommy that they go for a drink





	

**Author's Note:**

> Property of Elizabeth George and the BBC, no copyright infringement intended

_She saw the pain in him, and instead of trying to fix it, she held out her hand and said, “I’m here every step of the way. My hand is yours to hold. My shoulder, yours to cry on. My heart is big enough for us both, and my angels are ready to fight your demons. I’m here.” – L Browning_

 

I fell into step next to Tommy as we headed off the bridge and back to where he had left the Bristol.

“Welcome back you.”

He put his arm around my shoulder and briefly hugged me to him. “Thanks.”

“I probably shouldn’t be saying this but, d’you fancy a drink?”

He smiled at me. “You’re right, you probably shouldn’t, but in answer to your question, yes, I do.”

“Where? We could go to our usual pub or…”

“I don’t want to impose, and obviously you can say no but, can we go back to yours?”

Tommy sounded nervous and I wanted to reassure him. “Of course.”

~*~

I handed Tommy his glass and then sat down opposite him. He swirled the whiskey around, staring into its honey coloured depths before looking at me and taking a sip.

He seemed maudlin, and I felt the need to break the silence. “I’ve missed you.”

“I’ve missed you too Barbara, and I’m sorry for the way I treated you after… well, you know.”

I reached out and caught the fingers of his free hand in mine and squeezed them gently. “You don’t need to apologise to me, it was never about me.”

“I do need to apologise, for then and for how I behaved towards you over the Julia situation. You were right, it was definitely not my finest hour. I was a complete bastard and yet you let me get away with it and put your career on the line to help me. You are…”

“Your friend, and I will always be your friend.”

“That doesn’t excuse my behaviour…”

“Tommy, stop.” He looked down at the carpet, so I placed my glass on the table next to me, hooked my finger under his chin and made him look me in the eye. “Just stop beating yourself up. You don’t owe me an apology for anything, that’s not how our friendship works. We’re here for each other, no questions. As I said, it was never about me. I was worried about you, I was terrified when you shut yourself away and I couldn’t reach you. I was scared that you would do something stupid because you felt that no one cared and you had nothing left.”

Tommy put his glass down, slid onto his knees before me and then pulled me into a tight hug. My arms went around him and I rested my head on his chest.

“I don’t know what I did to deserve your friendship and loyalty.” I heard his voice hitch and lifted my head to look at him; his eyes were wet with unshed tears, but there was also another emotion in them, one that I had seen before on the night that he had come to my flat instead of seeing Christine Miller. He brought his hand up and stroked the side of my face before tracing my lips with his fingers. I closed my eyes and leant further into his touch, not quite believing my actions, or his. “Whatever I do, however I behave, you are always there for me.”

“It cuts both ways,” I murmured. “I’m not the easiest person to be around, but you always stand up for me and support me, even when I bite your head off.”

“Most of the time I probably more than deserve it.”

“Promise me that you won’t shut yourself away again? I don’t think I could stand it.”

Tommy’s lips stopped a hair’s breadth from mine and he whispered, “I’ve learnt my lesson.”


End file.
